One of the big "ahas" of the next generation of elearning designers
is that the interface is a significant piece of the content, not
just a conduit to the content. We are learning that the interface
should line up to the real life activity at some level, high or
low, to enable transferability of content.
Computer games designers get this, in that they think about the
interface and the complexity of interaction, although they also
mislead us, in that they don't care about transferability of skills
to the real world; they also rely quite a bit on established genres
(first person shooters, real-time strategies).
Not realizing the learning opportunity of the interface, as is the
case with traditional designers and learners used to traditional
models, has a feedback loop of problems.
If the learner does not realize that the interface is part of the
learning, they think the time spent learning the interface is
wasted time, which they resent.
Because traditional designers think of the web, with ease of
navigation, as a model of a good interface, they design content
that is very difficult to transfer.
We are getting over this. But it is slow.